In 2008, more than 2.6 million Americans lost their jobs, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945. In my home state of California, the unemployment rate soared to 9.3 percent last month – its highest point in 15 years. It is clear that Congress must take aggressive action to stave off a long and deep recession and that we must do more to ensure that appropriated money is spent efficiently and effectively to ensure America’s future success.
This legislation will create jobs quickly, help restore purchasing power, assist those in need and begin to reignite our flagging economy. With such a large stimulus package under consideration, we also have a unique opportunity to build infrastructure that will promote long-term prosperity. While we must place a premium on dispersing these funds quickly, we must also make a large, significant and lasting investment in our country’s future. I hope to be able to look back on this period, when the recession is far behind us and see that something positive came out of this crisis.
By investing in renewable energy, we can achieve both short-term and long-term goals. The green energy sector has many shovel-ready projects that would give the economy a quick boost. But renewable energy is also vital to our continued economic health - it creates high-paying American jobs in a fast-growing industry and protects our nation's natural resources. In passing this bill, we take the first step on the path toward a clean sustainable high-tech economy.
I believe that the stimulus will help revive our economy both by helping American families who are struggling to make ends meet and by making critical investments in our future. It will help establish the foundation for the nation’s long-term economic health and prosperity and ensure a lasting improvement in the standard of living for our children and their children.